Beau Webster showed his absolute class on Friday when he was spotted congratulating Jake Weatherald and his family ahead of his Test debut in the first Ashes clash. Weatherald effectively took Webster’s spot, with the Aussies opting for a specialist opener so Marnus Labuschagne could return to his more familiar role of No.3.
The Aussies had the option of using Labuschagne as an opener alongside Usman Khawaja, which would have allowed them to play both Webster and fellow all-rounder Cameron Green in the XI. But they ultimately went with Weatherald, which meant Webster was the unlucky man to miss out.
Beau Webster (L) was one of the first players to congratulate Jake Weatherald and his family (R). Image: Jake Weatherald/Getty
Webster hasn’t put a foot wrong in seven Tests since debuting last summer. He was one of the heroes of the 3-1 series victory over India, and hit the winning runs in the fifth Test to seal the triumph.
Cricket fans are heavily divided on Webster’s axing, with many of the belief he’s been hard done-by. But the Tasmanian showed his class on Friday when his axing was made official.
Jake Weatherald received his baggy green from David Warner. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
Jake Weatherald with family ahead of his Test debut. (Photo by Paul Kane – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Beau Webster congratulates Jake Weatherald and family
Rather than wallow in the misery of being left out, he was one of the first players to congratulate Weatherald when he received his baggy green from David Warner. He was also spotted hugging Weatherald’s parents and partner in a true sign of his team-first mentality.
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Webster had also pushed Weatherald’s case in public comments he made earlier this week, even though it hampered his chances of being picked. “He’s been a revelation for us at the top of the order,” Webster said of Weatherald. “We were crying out a little bit for someone who can take the game away early in the innings, and he does that.
“We saw even a couple of knocks this year to go with his exceptional year last year where he puts the pressure back on the bowlers. He bats how you want to as an opening batter in Australia right now. He punishes a bad ball, and he’s really selective when the ball’s around the stumps. He nearly single-handedly got us into a Shield final last year with the way batted.”
Steve Smith explains why Beau Webster was left out
Weatherald was one of two players to debut on Friday, with Brendan Doggett presented with his cap by Jason Gillespie. Weatherald is the sixth opener used by Australia since Warner’s retirement just two summers ago.
“Marnus, when he’s batting at his best at No.3, he makes us a very good cricket side,” said stand-in captain Steve Smith on Thursday afternoon. “We couldn’t really leave him out after he came back and did exactly what was told of him.
“The way he’s batted in Shield and one-day cricket for Queensland in the last couple of weeks has been amazing, so when he’s batting well, he’s tough to leave out and hopefully he can bring that to the Test arena now. For Beau, he’s the one that misses out unfortunately. He came into international cricket and lit it up immediately – it’s a really tough one on him.”
Weatherald avoided having to face the music straight away, with Ben Stokes winning the toss and batting first. Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke had both predicted England would opt to bowl first.
Australia’s XI for first Ashes Test:
Jake Weatherald, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
England’s XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse, Mark Wood